Holidays

September is the special month of the year that is set aside to celebrate the wonderfully dependable, always reliable potato. This solid side dish performer works with almost any meal and if you planted potato starters in the spring then you should have a harvest ready to be served up this the fall. Mashed potatoes are always a solid side dish but if you’re looking for something different here are six ideas for side dishes this month as you celebrate the potato!

Hashbrowns – Who says that hashbrowns have to stay put on the breakfast menu? Try serving them at dinner and adding in bell peppers, onions, and your favorite spices for flavor. Serve the hash browns with a traditional dinner menu or make it an evening of breakfast. It’s always a good time for pancakes and bacon!

Funeral Potatoes – A Utah classic, funeral potatoes are a satisfying comfort dish for any occasion, even a weeknight family dinner. Potatoes can be diced, sliced, or shredded before you add them to the recipe. This potato dish can be as simple or as elaborate as you want to make it, the varieties are endless. Here’s a basic funeral potato recipe from Lil’ Luna to get you started if you’ve never baked this comfort food before!

Baked – You can’t deny the simple, great taste of a baked potato. Toss the potatoes in olive oil and kosher salt before baking and they’ll come out of the oven crisp on the outside and warm and fluffy on the inside. The beauty of the baked potato is that each family member can create their own. Whether it’s with simple butter and salt or fully loaded with sour cream, bacon, cheese, and green onions, everyone will have a say in how this potato dish is made.

Photo Credit: Flickr

Grilled – While the weather is still warm outside you may not be in the mood to use your oven to cook potatoes. If that’s the case you can always grill them. Grilled potatoes are an excellent choice when you’re already planning on grilling meat for dinner. Slice or dice the potatoes and then put them in a foil packet. Don’t forget to spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray to prevent the vegetables from sticking to the sides.Add in bell peppers and onions or cheese and bacon, depending on your taste preference. Seal up the foil packets and place them on the grill earlier than your meat as the potatoes will take longer to cook.

Photo Credit: Food Network

Potato Salad – Potato salad isn’t only a dish for summer potlucks! If you find yourself in the mood for a potato side dish but want something a little lighter, try a potato salad. You can stick with the traditional recipes or try one that’s eggless, or a version that uses red potatoes and vinegar.

Potato Wedges – Celebrate the potato with homemade potato wedges. They are about as family friendly as you can get. Wedges can be served with simple, kid friendly main dishes or fancier adult fare. While cutting the potatoes can seem like a chore, in the end the homemade taste will be worth it! Try this recipe from Our Best Bites for oven fries and experiment with the different seasoning.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Enjoy the month with your homegrown potatoes, but if you didn’t grow any, plan ahead for next spring. Western Gardens carries in the spring a variety of only the best potatoes to grow in your own garden. You will be able to celebrate the potato even more next September.

Hello! I’m Jenn from Housewives of Riverton and am so excited to be here with you today. Did you know that August 8th is National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day? I am absolutely loving these different national days and have so much fun coming up with ways to celebrate them.The funny thing about National Sneak Some Zucchini onto your Neighbor’s Porch Day is, what person (who has a garden) isn’t going to be over the moon excited to celebrate this day. I mean, if you were to start putting some of your zucchini abundance onto all your neighbor’s porches on just a random Tuesday people might think you were weird BUT make it a national day that you can include on a fun note and it’s perfectly acceptable to share the zucchini love!As I was thinking of different ways to celebrate this fun holiday I started thinking of some of my favorite zucchini recipes. I think zucchini bread has to top the list, I like to pretend it’s completely healthy because it has quite a bit of zucchini in it, perfect for those days when I’m dieting. I don’t want to make National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day a chore for you so I am not suggesting that you make zucchini bread for all your neighbors but you could include a recipe for zucchini bread (or cookies, cupcakes, brownies…there are so many delicious zucchini recipes) along with the needed amount (or more) of zucchini. You may just introduce them to a new favorite recipe.
To help make this day and the giving easier for you, I’ve created this fun free printable for you to include with your bounty. CLICK HERE to print it off! I think that cute smiling zucchini would make anyone’s day brighter, he just seems to scream “Hey you, I was thinking about you today!” and everyone loves to be thought of.
I say plan ahead, don’t let this fun new holiday sneak up on you, collect your zucchini abundance, print out a few of our free printable and maybe a recipe or two and hit the neighborhood on August 8th and bring a smile to the faces of your neighbors!
If you’re looking for a fun new way to eat your zucchini you’ve got to try our Zucchini Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting or our Applesauce Zucchini Bread both are serious crowd pleasers and are sure to have your friends and family asking for more zucchini from your garden! Check out our National Zucchini Bread Day recipe as well.

We’re heading into the very best time of the year when it comes to fresh fruits and vegetables. If you’ve got a garden you know how quickly, once things start to ripen, you can end up with lots of extras. These Fresh from the Garden gift tags may be incentive to get out and share your joy!

I have loved sharing my bounty with friends and neighbors over the years. It’s always nice when something I’m not in need of brings a smile to someone else’s face.July 15th is National “Give Something Away” Day. I created these bright “Fresh from the Garden” and “From our Garden to You” printable tags to celebrate this fun day. Grab a small basket (or large, depending on your bounty), fill it with garden fresh fruits and veggies, print off a cute tag and deliver to one of your favorite people.

This would also be a cheerful tag to use with a fresh loaf of zucchini bread or other garden fresh treat.

I think sharing is one of my favorite things about having a garden (and having chickens, I love sharing fresh eggs). In the past, a few neighbors and I were very intentional with our gardening. We looked at the things we knew we wanted to grow and used a lot of and then sort of split up the planting. Why would everybody in the neighborhood plant zucchini plants when we knew a couple well maintained plants would supply more than enough for us all. Same with tomatoes and cucumbers. As I’m trying my hand more at canning having a couple plants each of my own has been awesome and there is still plenty to share.
I hope you take advantage of National Give Something Away Day this July 15th. Remember while these fresh from the garden and from our garden to you tags are created for you to gift something from your garden this is also an opportunity for other ways to give something away.

Give Something Away Idea – Go through your home, find those items that are still in good repair that are just not being utilized by you or your family, then donate them as well!

Give Something Away Idea – Put together your own little farmer’s market where neighbors can gather and share their bounty.

Give Something Away Idea – Create a little swap-n-shop where people can bring things they no longer need and look through things others have brought that might be a perfect fit in their home.

You can download the free printable tags here and here. We’d love to see how you use them!
Happy Summer!!